5 Questions To Ask Yourself At Meal Time

Losing weight, toning up, and being healthy comes down to the choices you make and the habits you develop from day to day. Its really quite simple, not necessarily easy, but it is quite simple when you understand what to do.

There are no magic bullet quick fixes, but if you just follow proven, solid principles on a consistent basis and go in to it with the mindset of ‘this is your lifestyle’ (and not a temporary health kick), you’ll get the results you want. Like it or not, the state of your body and health are the result of the lifestyle choices you’ve made up till now. If you want to change the outcome or the result you’ve been getting, then you need to start making the right choices that are conducive to your goals.

So if losing body fat or toning up is one of your primary goals, here’s 5 very important questions you should ask yourself when you sit down to eat… and if it helps, review these questions every single time you eat for as long as it takes to sink in.

SIMPLE: If you can provide the right answer to these questions every single time you eat a meal, you’ll lose weight and feel great and your body will reflect these great lifestyle choices you’ve made.

Here goes…

ARE YOU EATING TOO MUCH?

This might seem obvious, but it’s the best place to start. When you’re eating for fat loss its to be expected that you’re going to be feeling a little hungry some of the time, and that’s fine. It’s a good idea to stop eating before you’re feeling ‘full’.

So try eating on a smaller plate than usual, or just leave some food on your plate, put it in the fridge and save it for tomorrow.

And if you typically go back for seconds, maybe leave it at just one serve from now on.

Whichever one works for you, make sure you’re decreasing you’re calories in one way or another compared to what you’d normally eat.

So next meal time ask yourself – “Am I eating too much?”

(note: some people with a history of very low calorie diets need to eat MORE food to ramp up their metabolism and lose weight, have a think if you might be one of them)

ARE YOU EATING ENOUGH PROTEIN?

Protein intake will largely determine whether your body is going to burn fat or lean muscle, and obviously you want to lose the fat! It will also boost your metabolism and help repair and strengthen your muscles and connective tissues from weight training and other exercise (it will also help you overcome injuries a lot faster)

If you’re eating too many sugars or starchy carbs this will very likely prevent fat loss, and is actually likely to be a big cause of your weight gain in the first place! So next time you eat, ask yourself if there’s too many starches, the most common contributor I see is bread and pasta, other common starches include grains, biscuits/crackers, potatoes, rice.

Sugars are commonly found in soft drink, fruit juice, chocolate, salad dressing, desserts, and sweet snacks. You don’t have to be completely free of these foods if its just too daunting to get your head around, but just start eating less of them to get the ball rolling.

Next meal time ask yourself- ‘are you eating too many sugars or starches?”

ARE YOU EATING ENOUGH VEGETABLES?

In terms of nutrient density and calorie for calorie ‘bang for you buck’ you can’t go passed veggies. By replacing a lot of your starchy carbs with a double serve of veggies you’ll help yourself to feel fuller, healthier and more energetic, as you’re loading your body full of extra fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Females should aim for ½ to 1 cup, whilst males should aim for 1 cup.

Next meal ask yourself – “Am I eating enough vegetables?”

ARE YOU INCLUDING HEALTHY FATS?

Its important to differentiate between good and bad fats here. Highly processed fats found in processed foods will damage your health and lead to weight gain. Healthy fats however, will help with your weight loss. So try replacing any of these processed bad fats with good fats.

Next meal ask yourself – Am I including healthy fats? Or did I have some with my last meal/snack?”

There you have it – simple!

5 questions you can ask yourself to ensure you’re on the right track…

• Are you eating too much? • Are you eating enough protein? • Are you eating too many sugars or starches? • Are you eating enough vegetables? • Are you including healthy fats?

If you’ve got these questions covered then you’re on the right track, and remember this – if you want people to be impressed by how you look or the results you’ve achieved, then they should be impressed by looking at your food diary and your exercise log when you show them what it is you do.